The next morning, Cat wasn't sure where she was for a few minutes. When she saw the Grants sleeping in the large bed, she remembered where she was. She dug through her things, found clean clothes and got dressed. Not wanting to wake her Godparents just yet, she tiptoed out of the bedroom over to the suite door and opened it. There were two soldiers standing guard outside. "Good morning Miss Catherine," said one of them. "I hope you slept well."

"Yes I did. Thank you. I need some help. I need to use the outhouse, but I don't know where it's at and I don't think I should look for it alone."

"That's a very wise choice," said the other soldier. "I will take you to it."

"Thank you, but won't you get in trouble for leaving your friend alone?"

"No, I won't because I will be helping you and part of my job is to help you if you need it."

"Oh. Ok. Thank you. Can we please go now?"

"Yes, of course." The two of them walked out of the hotel.

A few minutes later, Rip came out of his room and was concerned when he saw only one guard in front of the president's suite. "Where is your companion?"

"He's escorting Miss Catherine to the outhouse. She didn't know where it was and didn't think she should look for it alone, so he volunteered to take her."

Just then Cat and the other soldier returned. She was delighted to see her uncle awake and squealed, "Uncle Rip, you're awake," ran and jumped into his arms and gave him a big hug.

"Good morning Kitten. I see you're up bright and early. I am proud of you for asking for help instead of going off on your own. Are your Godparents awake yet?"

"They weren't when I came out here. If they're still sleeping, can, may I please wake them up?"

Rip smiled at Cat correcting her own grammar. "Yes Kitten. You may wake them up if they're still sleeping." He set her down and laughed as she bounced back into the suite.

Rip looked at the soldier who had helped Cat and said, "Thank you for taking care of my niece. I had planned on being awake early, but it seems that she woke earlier than I did."

Cat entered the bedroom where her Godparents were still sleeping, bounced onto the bed and said happily, "Uncle Sam, Aunt Julia, it's morning and the sun is shining. Wake up. I'm hungry and I want to explore this town before we leave."

The president rolled over, groaned and said to his wife, "I thought we left Jesse back in Washington."

"We did Dear. Our Goddaughter seems to have just as much energy as our youngest son early in the morning."

"Well, in that case, there's only one thing to do." He rolled over on his back, pulled Cat down on the bed and started tickling her.

Her giggles could be heard all the way down the hall. One of the soldiers standing guard said, "It would seem sir that your niece is getting a lesson in what happens when you wake up sleeping Godparents."

"Yes Private, it would seem so," laughed Rip. "I have missed so much of her growing up these past eight years. You wouldn't believe the number of times I wished my brother was a marshal closer to the fort or that I was stationed at Fort Dodge. Maybe in a year or so when she's had a chance to settle in with my brother-in-law and his sons, I'll request a transfer to the fort near Virginia City. I won't interfere with the way she's being raised, but at least I'll get to see her more often."

"That would be nice," said the other soldier. "I'm sure that Miss Catherine would love being able to see you more often. In fact, from what I've seen, she would be very happy if the president could move the White House to Virginia City."

"I have no doubt of that. She would be extremely happy if the entire family lived near Virginia City."

Just then Bill Sherman came out of his room. "What on Earth is going on in there?" he asked. "Is Sam killing our Goddaughter?"

Rip laughed. "No Bill. Be glad she was sleeping with the Grants instead of you and Ellen. You were saved from being pounced on by a Wild Cat first thing in the morning."

Before Sherman could answer, Sheridan came out of the room he was sharing with his wife. "Do you suppose Sam is in any danger from a certain Wild Cat?" All three men and the two soldiers laughed. "Well, I don't know about you two, but I'm starving." He knocked on the Grant's door. "Hey Sam, we're all hungry. Do you think you could stop torturing our Goddaughter long enough to get dressed and get some breakfast?"

"Go ahead without me. I'm having too much fun torturing Cat. It's fun making her giggle like that."

"Sam, you're forgetting something," said Sherman. "You're the president and we can't just go ahead without you. You can go hungry if you like, but we'll hear no end of it from Cat if she doesn't eat. Julia, do you think you can convince that husband of yours to get dressed so we can all eat some breakfast?"

"We'll be out in a few minutes Bill," called Julia. Then she hugged Cat and said, "I think that your other two Godfathers are jealous because Uncle Sam is playing with you and they're not. Why don't you go and hug their necks? While you're doing that, we'll get dressed and then we'll all go and have some breakfast."

Cat bounced out of the bed, ran to the suite door and opened it. Her Godfathers were standing next to each other with their backs to it, so she jumped on them and hugged both of their necks from behind at the same time. They were both surprised by the attack and started laughing. "Phil, I think that we've been attacked by a wild Indian," said Sherman.

"No Bill, we've been attacked by a Wild Cat. Alright Monkey, let go and let us hug you." Cat let go and was hugged by both of her Godfathers. The Grants emerged a few minutes later and everyone walked across the street for breakfast. When everyone was finished eating, Cat wanted to spend time exploring the town.

"We still have a long way to go and I want to be at the fort by mid afternoon," said the president. "So, we'll explore for thirty minutes and then we have to leave."

The party walked down the street and Cat entered the saddle and harness shop followed by Rip, Tom and David. She spotted a pretty set of saddle bags that were made from light colored leather and had fringe on them. The fringe had been died different colors. "These sure are pretty," she said to Rip. "I wish I had asked Jarrod for more than ten dollars." She put the saddle bags down, gave them one more longing look and walked over to look at the saddles. She spotted one that had been intricately decorated. "Look at this saddle Uncle Rip. Do you think Uncle Matt would like it?"

"I'm sure he would Kitten, but it's so pretty, I don't think he'd use it. Knowing Matt, he would just keep it in his office to look at."

Cat giggled. "That's silly. You're supposed to put saddles on horses, not keep them to just look at. Oh well, I don't have any money, so even if Uncle Matt would use it, I can't buy it."

Cat and Rip left the shop but Tom and David stayed behind. They asked the shopkeeper how much the saddle bags were and he replied, "Are they for the little girl?"

"Yes, they are," said Tom.

"Well then, since they're for the little girl, I'll let you have them at a bargain. I was selling them for twenty dollars, but I'll let you have them for ten. I'll even burn her name into them so none of her schoolmates take them. I'm just curious. I know that she's traveling with the president's party but I was wondering what her relationship to him is."

"Thank you very much. Besides her name, do you think you could burn her father's brand into them? That way there will be no doubt as to whom they belong. She is the president's Goddaughter and the lieutenant is her uncle."

"Well, I think she's a very sweet child and very well behaved. I could see that she wanted these but wanted to buy them herself and not ask her uncle for the money. I also like the way she wanted to get that fancy saddle for another uncle and not herself. Please write down her name and draw her father's brand for me. I'll have them finished in about fifteen minutes."

David wrote down Cat's name and drew the Ponderosa brand for the shopkeeper.

The store owner looked at what Tom had written. "Wild Cat? Are you sure?"

"Yes," said David. "Her name is Catherine but the family calls her Wild Cat. They say she's as wild as the West Texas wind and harder to tame. She's been pretty subdued these past few weeks due to the death of her mother, but we have seen a little bit of her wild side." He looked at his watch and told his brother, "We'd better ask the president if he can delay his departure for a few minutes. He wants to leave in about ten minutes and the saddle bags won't be ready until after he wants to leave. We need a few extra minutes to wrap them up and hide them from Miss Cat."

"You know, her family is going to kill us for getting them for her."

"That's probably true, but she suffered a terrible loss only two and a half weeks ago and except for last night's outburst, has been very well behaved."

"Yes, she has been. I don't even know if Samantha would have been that well behaved on a trip like this. I think that last night's outburst was due more to exhaustion than anything else. You noticed that she was asleep on my shoulder before we reached the hotel, didn't you?"

"Yes I did. Well, we had better find the president and ask him to delay his departure for a few minutes."

They found the president, generals, and Rip standing outside the dressmaker's shop where the women were getting Cat to try on some dresses. They walked up and saluted. "Mr. President," said Tom. "We know that you want to leave in about ten minutes, but were wondering if there's any way you can delay your departure by a few minutes. My brother and I bought something for Miss Cat and it won't be ready until just after the time you want to leave. We need a few minutes to wrap it up and hide it from her."

Before Grant could respond, Rip asked, "You two didn't go and buy those saddle bags for her, did you?"

"Yes sir, we did. The store owner is burning her name and the Ponderosa brand into them right now, so none of her schoolmates decide to help themselves to them."

"Why are you men spending your money on her?" asked Rip.

"There are several reasons Lieutenant. We have grown quite fond of her in the past two weeks and feel bad that she had to suffer a horrible tragedy at such a young age. Also, she has done her very best to behave on this trip and has done everything that was asked of her without complaining. We feel that she should be rewarded. She's a sweet child even if she does have a mischievous side to her. We were also impressed, as was the store owner, that she wanted the saddle bags, but only if she could pay for them herself and by the fact that she wanted that pretty saddle for your brother, not herself."

"What about that outburst in the restaurant last night?" asked Rip.

"I think that was more out of frustration at having her grammar constantly being corrected and exhaustion," said Sherman. He turned to Tom and asked, "How long did it take her to fall asleep after you carried her out of the restaurant?"

"Not long at all General. She was asleep before we were half way across the street."

"Alright gentlemen," said Grant. "While I don't approve of your spoiling my Goddaughter, I will delay my departure long enough for you to do what you need to. Besides that, with the women in the dress shop, attempting to get her to try on dresses, we're liable to be here all day."

"Thank you Mr. President," said David. "If you, the generals and lieutenant would care to meet us at the saddle and harness shop in ten minutes, you'll be able to see what the saddle bags look like before they are wrapped up. Also, please don't think of it as us spoiling her. We've come to think of her as another little sister, so we're calling it a birthday gift. In fact, we're going to ask the shop owner for a piece of paper so we can write a birthday message on it for her."

"Well now," said Sheridan. "I don't know about these three, but I definitely want to see what these two young men have spent their hard earned money on for our Goddaughter. Besides that, my youngest has a birthday coming up in August. Maybe I'll find something in that shop for him. He's just as crazy about horses as Cat is."

They walked down to the saddle and harness shop and found that the owner had finished the saddle bags for Tom and David. "Those are beautiful," said Sheridan. "If my daughters enjoyed riding as much as Cat does, I'd get some for each of them." The others agreed that the saddle bags were beautiful and that Cat would love them. Tom paid the shop owner who wrapped the saddle bags up for them. Then they walked down to the dressmaker's shop where the ladies had convinced Cat to let each of them get her a dress.

Cat saw the package in Tom's hands and asked, "What's in your hands?"

"It's something for our sister."

"That's nice. I hope she'll like it."

"I'm sure she will."

"Now that everybody is done shopping, can we please get going?" asked Grant. "We still have a long way to go and I want to be at the fort before late afternoon."

They walked over to the carriage. Grant and the generals helped their wives get in and Rip picked Cat up hugged her and put her in. Julia hugged her and said, "I talked to the driver and you're going to ride in here with us for a little while. Then you'll be allowed to ride with him. After that, you'll be allowed to ride your horse the rest of the way."

While Cat was riding in the carriage, the president and her Godmothers talked to her about what it meant to be part of a family. They told her that while everyone may not always agree, they would always be there for each other. They also told her that Adam, Hoss, and Joe were older than her, she needed to listen to them, and they had the right to punish her if she disobeyed. Grant also told her that she should never be afraid to ask a family member for help. He told her that she would never be punished for asking for help because family members were supposed to help each other. Cat wasn't sure about that because some of her friends at school said that they got in trouble a lot when they asked for help. What her friends didn't say is that they got in trouble because they were asking for help with something they shouldn't have been doing in the first place.

Cat rode in the carriage for about an hour and then was allowed to ride with the driver who told her about driving a team. He told her that when they reached the fort, he would allow her to help drive the carriage over to the stables but she had to do everything he said to do. After several hours on the road, the group stopped to rest for a short time and Cat was allowed to ride her horse the rest of the way to the fort. Since they still had some of the food Hop Sing had packed, they decided to eat dinner on the shores of a small lake. After the food had been eaten, the ladies said they wanted to rest in the shade for a little while. Cat was allowed to go for a walk around the lake. Rip told her no swimming and to stay with Tom and David.

"I'm going swimming just because you said not to," teased Cat as she dodged a pretend swat aimed at her bottom. She took off her moccasins, rolled up her pants legs and walked into the lake followed by Tom and David. "This lake is bigger than the one yesterday," she said. "Maybe we shouldn't go all the way around. I don't want Uncle Sam to get mad at me."

"That's very good thinking Miss Cat," said David. "I know that the president wants to be at the fort before supper and we still have a long drive to make."

They walked part way around the lake and then turned back. When they rejoined the group, everyone was ready to leave so Cat mounted her horse and joined the group. They stopped one more time to rest the horses and then continued the journey to the fort. She was given permission to ride ahead a short distance. While she was riding alone, her horse startled a rattlesnake that had been sunning itself on the road. The snake struck out, Ginger reared and took off at a full gallop, followed by Rip, Tom and David. Quint had taught Cat what to do in case something like that happened, so she didn't panic and then slowly got Ginger to slow down and stop. By the time Rip, Tom and David caught up with her; Cat was already out of the saddle and checking to see if her horse had been bitten by the snake.

Rip was the first to reach Cat and was practically out of the saddle before his horse had stopped. He picked his niece up, hugged her and asked, "Are you alright? Did you fall off or get thrown?"

Cat hugged him back and said, "I'm fine Uncle Rip. Mr. Quint taught me what to do if my horse ever ran away with me. I didn't fall off and Ginger didn't throw me. I'm trying to see if she got bit by the snake but I don't know what to look for."

Tom and David checked Ginger for snake bites. "Your horse is just fine Miss Cat," said Tom. "The snake didn't bite her."

"That's good. Now I need to go back, find that snake and yell at it for sleeping in the road. It could get hurt or hurt someone that way."

Rip held her tight. "I would like you to ride in the carriage the rest of the way Cat."

"Why? It wasn't my fault that the snake was sleeping in the road."

"I know. It's just that I don't want anything to happen to you and you'll be safer if you ride in the carriage. What I really want to do is wrap you in cotton wool so that nothing will ever happen to you."

"Uncle Rip…You can't wrap me in cotton wool and you can't make me ride in the carriage."

"I'm not going to make you ride in the carriage. You would drive everybody crazy if I did. I should make you ride on my horse with me but you would drive me crazy. I love you and I just don't want anything to happen to you."

"I love you too Uncle Rip but right now, I need to find that snake and yell at it."

"Miss Cat, that snake is long gone," said David. "It went into the grass and was gone before I could kill it."

"I'm glad you didn't kill it. The snake didn't want to hurt me or Ginger. It was just scared. That's why I want to yell at it so it won't nap on the road any more."

"Well, hopefully being scared by your horse taught it to find a safer place than the road to nap on. We don't have time for you to go back and look for it. The president is eager to get going again so we can get to the fort soon."

"Ok. I don't want Uncle Sam to be mad at me, but I still want to yell at that snake."

"If we ever come back this way and I see that snake again, I'll yell at it for you," said Tom. "It won't be the same as you yelling at it, but maybe it will listen and stay off the road."

"Ok Tom. You can yell at it for me if you ever see it again, but I don't want you to kill it."

By the time Tom and David had checked Ginger for snake bites, the president's carriage had caught up with them. Rip assured everyone that both Cat and her horse were fine and they continued on their journey. They reached the fort by mid afternoon.

When the guard saw the president's carriage, he told the sergeant who told the major. The major didn't believe the sergeant and told him to go back to work. He left the major's office and told the guards to open the gates for the president's party. Once they were inside and the gates closed, the president, generals and Rip were very upset to see that the major had not assembled the men to greet the president. Sherman started to yell at the sergeant. "I'm sorry General," replied the Sergeant. "I told the major you were coming but he didn't believe me and ordered me not to assemble the men."

"Thank you Sergeant," said Sherman. "I'll deal with the major myself right now."

"Thank you General," replied the sergeant. "I'll arrange for suitable quarters for the president's party." He saluted and left to arrange for suitable quarters for the travelers.

Sherman walked into the major's office, yelled at him, relieved him of his command and said that he would be demoted. Then he walked back outside and told the others what he had done. "Rip, these are your men. You know them and they know you, so you're in command until other arrangements can be made." Rip walked into the Major's office to begin getting organized. In the mean time, the Sergeant returned and escorted everyone to their quarters.

Once everyone had exited the carriage, the driver allowed Cat to climb up on the seat with him. He had her sit on his lap and let her take the reins. With his hands firmly over hers, he allowed Cat to drive the team to the stables. "That was fun!" Cat exclaimed. "When can we do it again?"

"I don't know Miss Cat. We'll just have to wait and see when the president wants to use his carriage again. Now, since your uncle is busy in his new office, let's get you over to your Godparents and find out whom you're going to spend the night with. It's getting close to suppertime and you need to get washed up." They located the president's quarters and Cat started to open the door and walk in. "Not so fast Miss Cat. You never just walk into a room where the door is closed, without knocking first. That would be rude and I know that you are a polite little girl." He knocked on the door and it was opened by Julia Grant.

"With the lieutenant busy in his new office, I thought it best to bring Miss Cat here." Julia thanked the driver, let Cat into the room and told her to get washed up for supper.

Once she was washed up, the president picked her up and sat her on his lap. "I know that you wanted to go out to your Apache friends right after breakfast tomorrow, but I was wondering if you would stay here until after dinner. We have a surprise planned for Rip tomorrow morning and I thought you would want to be here for it."

"Is it a nice surprise?"

"Of course it is. Those are the best kind."

"Ok. Since it's a nice surprise, I'll stay here until after dinner tomorrow."

"Good. I'm glad. You will really like the surprise, but you have to promise not to say anything to him because I want him to be really surprised. Now will you please do me a big favor? Will you please run over to Rip's office and tell him that I would like him to eat supper with us? I think he had planned on eating in the office, but I need to talk with him and find out how big a mess was on the Major's desk.

Cat ran out of the room and over to Rip's office. Once she left, Grant turned to his generals and said, "Ok gentlemen. You've heard from the troops. What do they have to say?"

Sheridan replied. "The men don't like Major Bush and they don't trust or respect him. The old timers say that he is one of the worst officers they've ever served under and that he sees an Apache attack in every shadow, despite the fact that there have been no problems since before he took command of the fort.

With Rip, it's the exact opposite. The men like and respect him very much. They all say that they'd follow him to Hell and back. The old timers feel that he should have been promoted years ago. They all say that he never asks them to do anything he wouldn't do himself and has even been known to care for his own horse rather than have one of the men do it."

"Thank you Phil. Bill did you get a look at his service record?"

"Yes I did. He has an outstanding record including several commendations. Also, it seems that Major Stone recommended him for promotion just prior to being transferred but Major Bush never followed through."

"Thank you gentlemen. Based on your reports, I have decided to promote Rip to the rank of major and give him command of this fort. I know that he was hoping to be allowed to transfer to Fort Dodge or closer to Virginia City, but right now, I need him here."

Just then, Cat returned and knocked on the door. This time Phil Sheridan opened it and let her in. "Uncle Rip says that he'll join you for supper but wants to know what time you're going to eat." The president told her and she ran out the door again.

"We need to get word to the Apaches not to expect Cat until tomorrow afternoon," Grant said. "They're expecting her tomorrow morning and I don't want them thinking we're preventing her from going to them. Phil, will you please find that sergeant and ask him to get word to the Apaches? Also, let's invite those two young men to join us for supper. I want to see the look on Cat's face when they give her those saddle bags. We'll dine casual so they won't feel out of place. Tell Rip not to wear his uniform to supper." Sheridan left the room, found the sergeant and asked him to let the Apaches know that Cat would not be joining them until the following afternoon.

While he was looking for the sergeant, Sheridan saw Tom and David and motioned for them to come with him. "I am looking for the sergeant. I need him to go and tell the Apaches that Cat won't be joining them until tomorrow afternoon. I would like the two of you to go with him and tell them why. I'll make sure that he knows any information he hears is strictly confidential. The president wants tomorrow's events to be a secret until they happen. Also, he has invited the two of you to join us for supper. It will be causal. Nobody will be wearing uniforms."

"You can count on us General," said David. "Thank you for the invitation. We gladly accept."

"Thank you gentlemen. Do you know where the sergeant is?"

"I think I saw him going into the lieutenant's office a little while ago," said Tom. They walked over to Rip's office where they found him talking to the sergeant.

Sheridan entered the office and said, "Rip, if you don't mind, I need to borrow your sergeant for a little while. We've managed to convince Cat to wait until after dinner tomorrow before going out to the Apaches and we need to let them know."

"That's fine. But he probably won't see the Apaches. He'll ride out to the Walker's farm and tell them. They'll tell the Apaches."

"Thank you. I'm sending those two young men who have adopted Cat with him."

"Ok. After you get them sent off, I have some questions for you."

Sheridan walked outside with the sergeant and told him that Tom and David would be going with him and he was not to tell anyone why Cat wouldn't be joining the Apaches until the following afternoon. Then he walked back into the office. "What can I help you with Rip?"

"I have some questions concerning what I am allowed to do as temporary commanding officer of this fort. Prior to receiving the telegram about Kate's death, I recommended several soldiers for promotion. Major Bush did not act on those recommendations. Am I allowed to promote them? After all, I am only a lieutenant and my current position is temporary."

"Rip, you are the Commanding Officer of this fort right now. If you believe someone needs to be promoted, write the orders and Bill or I will sign them. We'll do the promotions after breakfast tomorrow morning. Oh yes, before I forget, Sam invited those two young men to join us for supper. Wear civilian clothes instead of your uniform so they don't feel out of place."

"Thanks Phil. Those two young men have done a great job keeping up with Cat. Ben will probably wish he could add them to the family. I don't think he or my nephews are going to be able to tame her."

Sheridan laughed. "Do you really want her tamed Rip? If that happened, she wouldn't be the little Wild Cat we all love."

"You're right Phil. It's going to be interesting to see what her children are like when she grows up. I wonder if Michael's grandchildren will be as wild as his daughter is. You don't know how much I wish he were here to see his daughter. He would have a lot of fun with her."

"Well, I'd better let you get back to Sam. I don't envy you that mess. I'll see you in about two hours and don't forget, no uniform. Those two boys are going to be uncomfortable enough dining with Sam. We don't want to really make it worse by wearing our uniforms."

"Ok. Phil. I don't suppose that you would like to help me with this mess, would you? I could really use the help."

"Sure Rip, I'll help you out. It is quite a mess."

While Rip and Sheridan were busy going through all of the papers the Major had left on his desk and writing promotions, the sergeant, Tom and David rode out to the Walker farm. They knocked on the door and Elizabeth answered it and invited them inside. They told her and John that Cat wouldn't be joining the Apaches until the following afternoon. Then Tom told her why. They were thrilled that Rip was going to be promoted and John said he'd ride out right away and tell the Apaches not to expect Cat until the next afternoon and why. On the way back to the fort, the Sergeant told Tom and David he was glad Rip was going to be promoted and he thought it should have been done years ago.

When they returned to the fort, Tom and David went to their quarters changed clothes, grabbed Cat's present and walked down to join Rip, Cat and her Godparents for supper. "I don't know about you," David said, "But I'm nervous about eating supper with Cat's family. If we were just going to be with her new father and brothers, I wouldn't be this nervous, but we're going to be dining with the president, two generals and a lieutenant. Oh well, we'd better head down there. It wouldn't be polite to keep them waiting."

They walked down and knocked on the door to the President's quarters. Sheridan opened the door and invited them in. He saw the package in Tom's hands, took it and hid it behind his back just as Cat came out of another room. She saw the two of them, ran and hugged both of them and asked, "How come you're here? Are you coming to supper with us?"

"Yes, of course we are. Somebody needs to protect the president, generals, and lieutenant from you," teased Tom. "You're the wildest thing we've seen since we left our sister behind in Washington and everyone could be in danger from you."

Cat stuck her tongue out at him and ran back into the other room. "Uncle Sam, Tom and David are here. Did you invite them to supper?"

"Of course I did. Someone has to protect me, Uncle Bill, Uncle Phil, Uncle Rip, and this whole fort from you. If they didn't, you would probably destroy everyone and everything in just a few hours."

"I would not. It would take me at least a whole day to destroy the whole fort."

The Grants laughed at that statement. "Come on Julia," the president said to his wife. "We had better feed this wild thing before she does start destroying everything just for fun." They walked out into the main room where they greeted Tom and David. Then everyone left and walked over to the officer's mess where they would eat supper.

Everyone in the mess stood up when the president's party walked in. "Please sit down and enjoy your meals gentlemen," said Grant. "We intend to do the same thing." All of the officers sat down and one of the servers showed the party to their table.

As they passed a small table, one of the officers there said to his companions, "Would you look at that. Who do those two privates think they are, dining with the president and three officers?"

"I think it's disgraceful," replied one of the other men. "Those two need to be taught how to keep to their places."

Cat heard what the men said, walked over to them, kicked both of them and said, "Tom and David are my friends. Uncle Sam invited them to eat with us tonight. You shouldn't talk bad about them. It's rude to talk bad about others."

Before either of them could reply to Cat, Sherman walked over to them. "Since you seem to have a problem with the president's choice of dinner guests, I highly recommend you return to your quarters and remain there. Then you won't be offended by the company he keeps! I will deal with you in the morning!" The two officers knew they were in big trouble, got up and left the dining hall with their food half eaten. "Come on Cat. Everyone is waiting for us." After they reached the table and sat down, Sherman said, "Cat, I am very proud of you for defending your friends. However, next time, I think it would be best if you let adults take care of the problem. Those men had too much to drink and they could have hurt you."

"Ok Uncle Bill. I will."

"That's my girl. Now, what do you want for supper?"

"Chocolate cake."

Everyone in the dining hall that heard Cat's reply laughed. "You can have chocolate cake for dessert," said Rip. "How about having some chicken or steak, potatoes and vegetables for supper?"

"Ok Uncle Rip. I'll have the chicken, but I'd rather have chocolate cake."

After the server took everyone's order, Grant spoke to Tom and David. "Since you seem to have adopted my Goddaughter and she you, from now on, whenever we are in a family setting, you may call everyone by their names. As for that wild thing sitting next to Rip goes, I don't know why anyone would want to adopt her. I think we should treat her like a fish that's too small and throw her back."

Everyone had a good laugh. "I wouldn't tease her too much Sam," said Sheridan. "Remember, she's sleeping in your quarters and has the power to wake you very early in the morning."

"You wouldn't wake me up early, now would you Cat?"

"Yes I would. It's fun to wake you up early."

"Well, there's your answer Sam," laughed Rip. "Don't say you weren't warned. Cat is every bit Michael's daughter. He loved waking our parents up early when we were children."

Grant sighed and looked at his wife. "It's a good thing we left Jesse in Washington Dear. I'd hate to think of the havoc he and our Goddaughter could wreak on this country if they were together."

Cat chimed in. "I want to meet Jesse. He sounds like a lot of fun, just like Tom and David's sister, Sam."

Before any of the adults could respond to Cat's comment, servers brought the food. When she had finished her food, Tom called her over to where he and David were sitting and they handed her the package they bought that morning. Cat started to open it without reading the note pinned to it. "Cat, what does the note say?" asked Rip.

Cat read the note. "Happy birthday to our other little sister. From Tom and David." When she opened the package and found the saddle bags she had admired and saw her name and the Ponderosa brand on it, her jaw dropped and her eyes got as big as saucers. She hugged their necks so hard that Grant had to step in.

"Not so hard Cat. I need them," he teased. "If you keep hugging their necks that hard, I'm going to have to replace them because they'll be looking backwards and it's hard to ride a horse when you're sitting backwards."

"You can have Adam," replied Cat. "Little Joe says he's bossy. He'll be good at telling everyone else what to do."

"No Cat, I don't want Adam," replied Grant. "When I don't need Tom and David any more, I'm going to send them to the Ponderosa. Your Pa can adopt them too and they can help Adam, Hoss, and Joe keep you out of mischief."

Cat scrunched up her nose and made a funny face. "Yuck! I don't want five big brothers. I don't even want three big brothers. I just want Hoss and Little Joe. You can have Adam and I'll keep Tom and David."

"There's a problem with that Cat," said David. "If you ask Samantha, she'll say that we're just as bossy as Adam. The only reason we haven't been bossing you on this trip is because you had your uncle and Godfathers to do it. If we come and live on the Ponderosa, we'll boss you just as much as Adam will."

"That's not fair. I was right. There are just too many grownups!"

Everyone in the officer's mess heard Cat's exclamation and laughed. "You'll change your mind when you grow up," laughed Julia Grant.

"No I won't because I'm never going to grow up. When I turn ten next year, I'm not going to get any older. I'm just going to stay ten forever. Then I'm going to take Uncle Sam's job and get rid of Arithmetic and Grammar."

Before anyone could reply, the server brought dessert for everyone. Cat polished off a large piece of chocolate cake and a glass of milk. Shortly after finishing her dessert, Cat started yawning and rubbing her eyes. Rip noticed, picked her up and said, "Time for you to go to bed little one. You have another busy day tomorrow and need your sleep. Say goodnight to everyone and let's get you into bed." Cat said goodnight to everyone. Tom and David started to get up and go with Rip. "You two have done plenty for Cat. Sit down and enjoy your night off. You deserve it. I'll find someone to sit with Cat until we're all done here."

"You don't have to carry me Uncle Rip," said Cat. "I can walk."

"I know Kitten but I like doing it. I don't get to do it often enough and it won't be too many more years before you're going to be too big for me to carry."

Rip carried Cat over to the Grant's quarters and found the captain waiting for them. "Don't worry about Miss Cat, Lieutenant. Since Tom and David are dining with the president tonight, all of the other men volunteered to keep watch. Rip thanked the captain, carried Cat inside and put her to bed. When he came out, the captain said, "I didn't want to say anything in front of Miss Cat, but one of those men General Sherman spoke with earlier blamed Miss Cat because he got in trouble with the general and threatened her. Don't worry. He's not going to do anything. I've got men standing guard at his quarters. In fact, his companion was so worried, he put a chair in front of the door and is planning to stay there all night. There are men in back of the president's quarters and there will be men in front also.

"Thank you Captain. I appreciate you and the men taking care of my niece. I'll be sure and let the general know about that officer's threats." Then he walked back over to the officer's mess and joined the others.